Systems and methods for customizing search results and recommendations

ABSTRACT

A recommendation system can be configured to customize search results and/or recommendations of content (e.g., customized products, products, advertising, layouts, etc.) using online and/or offline activity captured on a user population. The system can be configured to customize the content returned to users to achieve specific behaviors and/or influence the current user&#39;s behavior, responsive to modeling previous users. For example, the system can capture and aggregate user behavior/activity and score content based on the actions taken with respect to the content. In some examples, the scoring can be filtered or augmented by matching current user characteristics to characteristics of the previous users. The scoring can be generated independent of the language in which the activity/user behavior occurred. According to one embodiment, the system is configured to generate language independent models and utilize the language independent modeling to deliver customized content (e.g., recommendations and/or search results) without conventional constraints.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of and claims priority under § 120 toU.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/285,061 filed May 22, 2014, entitled“SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR CUSTOMIZING SEARCH RESULTS ANDRECOMMENDATIONS,” which is herein incorporated by reference in theentirety.

BACKGROUND

Many conventional approaches exist for customizing recommendations. Insome embodiments, customized recommendations can be delivered responsiveto user entered searches. Further, on-line activity by the user can betracked by various sites and used to customize advertising delivered tothe user. For example, cookies are known mechanisms that track useron-line activity and can be used to deliver product recommendationsbased on access items, searches, and/or purchases.

SUMMARY

It is realized that conventional approaches can fail to developcontextually relevant recommendations and/or search results. It isfurther realized that conventional recommendation systems can be limitedto specific sites on which user information is collected. Furtherlimitations for conventional recommendation systems exist in terms oflanguage and meaning. Accordingly, various aspects and embodiments of arecommendation system are provided to overcome at least some of thefailings of conventional approaches.

According to one embodiment, a recommendation system is configured tocustomize search results and/or recommendations using online and/oroffline activity captured on a user population. The system can beconfigured to customize content (e.g., search results, product lists,recommendations, etc.) returned to users based on actions and/orbehaviors observed in previous users. The customized content can bedelivered based on analyzing previous actions and/or behavior ofprevious like users and/or previous like searches. In some embodiments,modeling of like users and/or similar searches on previous behaviorsand/or actions leads to customized content (e.g., search results) thatwould be missed by conventional approaches. In some examples, the systemcan also be configured to achieve specific behaviors and/or influencethe user's behavior responsive to modeling respective users within theuser population.

According to various embodiments, the recommendation system can beimplemented in an ecommerce environment. According to one embodiment,the system can be configured to deliver customized content (e.g., searchresults, product lists, recommendations, etc.) to users based on actionsand/or behaviors observed in previous users. In some examples, therecommendation system can be configured to deliver products and/orsearch results within a user's shopping cart or shopping experience.

According to some embodiments, the system can capture and aggregate userbehavior and/or user activity to develop user models and/or models ofsearches entered or performed by users. In some embodiments, the modelsare developed such that language is irrelevant to the model information.According to one embodiment, the system is configured to generatelanguage independent models and utilize the language independentmodeling to deliver customized content (e.g., recommendations and/orsearch results) without conventional constraints. Further, by modelingprevious actions and behavior, the models emphasize customized contentmissed, for example, by relevancy searching or tagged knowledge bases.

According to another embodiment, the system can build behavior modelsusing language specific activity and return matching models within amatching language. In such a manner the system can be configured toeliminate the need to understand the particular context/nuance of thesubject language by matching activity/behavior to models within anidentified language and returning results from historic behavioraccordingly.

In one example, the system is configured to model user activity/userbehavior based on previous user interactions with content (e.g., eachresponse returned to a user query, search, selection, and/or on-linenavigation). The user activity/behavior can be scored by the system andassociated with respective content (e.g., a respective product, arespective search result, etc). The respective scores can be used tocustomize content displays shown to the user. In some embodiments, therecommendation system can be implemented in any user environment wheresearch functions are used to locate results to present to a user. In oneexample environment, the system can capture user activity information ina custom product development environment. In another example, the systemcan capture user activity information in any ecommerce environment, andscore potential results to display to the user based on the useractivity information, for example, in the user's shopping cart.

In one example, the custom product environment can include tools forcreating custom product designs. In another example, custom productdesign can include selection of text and image data to bundle with aproduct selection. According to some embodiments, the system can indexany user selection of images, input text, product template, and/orspecific products, to build user models and/or score content. The usermodels are analyzed by the system to return contextually relevantresults and/or generate new recommendations to a user based on modeledinformation.

According to another example, the ecommerce environment can includetools, displays, search functions, etc., to enable any user to inputsearch characteristics and receive from the system, for example,matching products. In some examples, users can receive search resultsselected by the system based on prior user actions, including forexample, prior user searches and/or product selections made by the priorusers after entering a same or similar search.

In further embodiments, content on a website (including, for example,custom products, results in a search result list, etc.) is scored basedon the identified user activity. Each action associated with specificcontent (e.g., view product, add product to cart, purchase product,access search result, etc.) can be assigned a value and respectivecontent can be evaluated and/or ranked based on respective score.Scoring rules can be tailored to favor specific behaviors according tothe services/goods offered on a site and may be executed againsthistorical data filtered by user models. In various embodiments, scoringand user model filtering of data increases the relevancy of contentdisplayed to end-users and can further increase the likelihood ofachieving desired action with respect to each user.

According to one aspect, a system for customizing displayed contentselections is provided. The system comprises at least one processoroperatively connected to a memory; a search component, executed by theat least one processor, configured to accept search selection in a userinterface displayed to a user, and display search results in to the userin the user interface; a modeling component, executed by the at leastone processor, configured to score previous users' actions associatedwith content items displayed to the user; and wherein the searchcomponent is further configured to identify search results based, atleast in part, on respective action scores assigned to respectivecontent items.

In one embodiment, the modeling component is configured execute scoringrules to assign an action value to a respective content item based on aprior user action, and associate the action value to the respectivecontent item. In one embodiment, the search component is furtherconfigured to order the search results based on the previous users'actions. In one embodiment, the scoring rules include a plurality oflevels for categorizing previous users' actions, and the modelingcomponent is configured to assign the action value based on a determinedlevel associated with the user action. In one embodiment, the scoringrules generate an additive action score for the respective contentitems.

In one embodiment, the search component is configured to generaterelevant results based at least in part on a highest action scoreassociated with content items. In one embodiment, the system furthercomprises a matching component, executed by the at least one processor,configured to match a current user's characteristics to characteristicsof prior users. In one embodiment, the matching component is configuredto filter the previous users' actions scored by the modeling componentresponsive to matching the current user's characteristics to priorusers. In one embodiment, the search component is configured to capturesearch selections responsive to a user adding a product to an onlineshopping cart. In one embodiment, the search results identified by thesearch component are displayed to the user as additional selectionoptions for the online shopping cart. In one embodiment, the searchcomponent is configured to capture search selection responsive to a usernavigating within an ecommerce website. In one embodiment, the searchresults identified by the search component are displayed to the user asadditional selection options within the ecommerce site.

According to one aspect, computer implemented method for customizingdisplayed content selections is provided. The method comprises receivingfrom a user interface displayed to a user search selection;communicating search results for display to the user in the userinterface; scoring, by a computer system, previous users' actionsassociated with content items displayed to the user; and identifying, bythe computer system, search results based, at least in part, onrespective action scores assigned to respective content items.

In one embodiment, scoring includes an act of executing, by the computersystem, scoring rules to assign an action value to a content item basedon a prior user action with the content item. In one embodiment, scoringincludes an act of executing, by the computer system, scoring rules toassign an action value to a content item based on determining a level toassign to the prior user action with the content item. In oneembodiment, the scoring including adding the action value to anyexisting action value for the content item. In one embodiment,identifying, by the computer system relevant results to include in thesearch results based, at least in part, on highest respective actionscores assigned to respective content items.

In one embodiment, the method further comprises matching, by thecomputer system, a current user's characteristics to characteristics ofprior users. In one embodiment, matching includes filtering the previoususers' actions scored by the modeling component responsive to matchingthe current user's characteristics to prior users. In one embodiment,the act of receiving from a user interface displayed to a user thesearch selection includes capturing the search selection responsive to auser adding a product to an online shopping cart. In one embodiment, thesystem further comprises an act of displaying the search results asadditional selection options within the online shopping cart. In oneembodiment, the act of receiving from a user interface displayed to auser the search selection includes capturing the search selectionresponsive to a user navigating within an ecommerce website. In oneembodiment, the search results identified by the search component aredisplayed to the user as additional selection options within theecommerce site.

According to one aspect, a system for customizing displayed contentselections is provided. The system comprises at least one processoroperatively connected to a memory; a search component, executed by theat least one processor, configured to accept search selection in a userinterface displayed to a user, and display search results in to the userin the user interface; a modeling component, executed by the at leastone processor, configured to score user actions associated with contentitems displayed to the user; and wherein the search component is furtherconfigured to identify relevant results responsive to search selectionsbased, at least in part, on respective action scores assigned torespective content items.

In one embodiment, the modeling component is configured to executescoring rules to assign an action value based on a prior user action,and associate the action value to the a respective content itemassociated with the user action. In one embodiment, the scoring rulesinclude a plurality of levels for categorizing user actions, and themodeling component is configured to assign the action value based on adetermined level associated with the user action. In one embodiment, thescoring rules generate an additive action score for respective contentitems. In one embodiment, the search component is configured to generaterelevant results based at least in part on a highest action scoreassociated with content items.

In one embodiment, the system further comprises a matching component,executed by the at least one processor, configured to match a currentuser's characteristics to characteristics of prior users. In oneembodiment, the matching component is configured to filter prior useractions scored by the modeling component responsive to matching thecurrent user's characteristics to prior users.

In one embodiment, the content items include custom images and whereinthe search component is configured to return the custom imagesresponsive to user input of text to include in a logo design. In oneembodiment, the custom images are assigned a respective action scorebased on prior user interactions with the respective custom image. Inone embodiment, the prior user interactions include at least one of:viewing of an custom image, incorporating a custom image into a logodesign, saving an logo design, or purchasing a logo design, and whereinthe modeling component is configured execute scoring rules to assign anaction value to the custom image based on the respective action. In oneembodiment, the modeling component is configured to execute scoringrules to assign an action value to the custom image based on a pluralityof levels for categorizing user actions. In one embodiment, modelingcomponent is configured to generate a language independent action score,wherein generating a language independent action score includes at leastof: filtering prior user interactions based on an associated language orscoring a custom image and logo text entirely on previous user actions.

According to one aspect, a computer implemented method for customizingdisplayed content selections is provided. The method comprises receivingfrom a user interface displayed to a user search selection;communicating search results for display to the user in the userinterface; scoring, by a computer system, user actions associated withcontent items displayed to the user; and identifying, by the computersystem, relevant results to include in the search results based, atleast in part, on respective action scores assigned to respectivecontent items.

In one embodiment, scoring includes an act of executing, by the computersystem, scoring rules to assign an action value to a content item basedon a prior user action with the content item. In one embodiment, scoringincludes an act of executing, by the computer system, scoring rules toassign an action value to a content item based on determining a level toassign to the prior user action with the content item. In oneembodiment, the scoring includes adding the action value to any existingaction value for the content item. In one embodiment, identifying, bythe computer system relevant results to include in the search resultsbased, at least in part, on highest respective action scores assigned torespective content items.

In one embodiment, the method further comprises matching, by thecomputer system, a current user's characteristics to characteristics ofprior users. In one embodiment, matching includes filtering prior useractions scored by the modeling component responsive to matching thecurrent user's characteristics to prior users.

In one embodiment, the content items include custom images and whereincommunicating search results for display to the user in the userinterface includes identifying relevant custom images responsive to userinput of text to include in a logo design. In one embodiment, scoringincludes assigned a respective action score to the custom images basedon prior user interactions with the respective custom image. In oneembodiment, the prior user interaction includes at least one of: viewingof an custom image, incorporating a custom image into a logo design,saving a logo design, or purchasing a logo design, and wherein scoringincludes assigning an action value to the custom image based on therespective action.

In one embodiment, scoring includes assigning an action value to thecustom image based on a plurality of levels for categorizing useractions. In one embodiment, scoring includes generating a languageindependent action score, wherein generating a language independentaction score includes at least of: filtering prior user interactionsbased on an associated language or scoring a custom image and logo textentirely on previous user actions.

According to one aspect provided is a system for customizing displayedcontent selections. The system comprises at least one processoroperatively connected to a memory, a search component, executed by theat least one processor, configured to accept search selection in a userinterface displayed to a user, and display search results in to the userin the user interface, and a modeling component, executed by the atleast one processor, configured to score user actions associated withcontent items displayed to the user, the search component is furtherconfigured to identify search results based, at least in part, onrespective action scores assigned to respective content items.

Various embodiments of the system incorporate any one, two, three, four,five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, more, or all of the followingelements: wherein the modeling component is configured execute scoringrules to assign an action value to a respective content item based on aprior user action, and associate the action value to the respectivecontent item, wherein the search component is further configured toorder the search results based on users activity, wherein the scoringrules include a plurality of levels for categorizing user actions, andthe modeling component is configured to assign the action value based ona determined level associated with the user action, wherein the scoringrules generate an additive action score for the respective contentitems, wherein the search component is configured to generate relevantresults based at least in part on a highest action score associated withcontent items, wherein the system further comprises a matchingcomponent, executed by the at least one processor, configured to match acurrent user's characteristics to characteristics of prior users,wherein the matching component is configured to filter prior useractions scored by the modeling component responsive to matching thecurrent user's characteristics to prior users, wherein the searchcomponent is configured to capture search selections responsive to auser adding a product to an online shopping cart, wherein the searchresults identified by the search component are displayed to the user asadditional selection options for the online shopping cart, wherein thesearch component is configured to capture search selection responsive toa user navigating within an ecommerce website, and wherein the searchresults identified by the search component are displayed to the user asadditional selection options within the ecommerce site.

According to one aspect provided is a computer implemented method forcustomizing displayed content selections. The method comprises receivingfrom a user interface displayed to a user search selection,communicating search results for display to the user in the userinterface, scoring, by a computer system, user actions associated withcontent items displayed to the user; and identifying, by the computersystem, search results based, at least in part, on respective actionscores assigned to respective content items.

Various embodiments of the method incorporate any one, two, three, four,five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, more, or all of the followingelements: wherein scoring includes an act of executing, by the computersystem, scoring rules to assign an action value to a content item basedon a prior user action with the content item, wherein scoring includesan act of executing, by the computer system, scoring rules to assign anaction value to a content item based on determining a level to assign tothe prior user action with the content item, wherein the scoringincluding adding the action value to any existing action value for thecontent item, wherein identifying, by the computer system relevantresults to include in the search results based, at least in part, onhighest respective action scores assigned to respective content items,wherein the method further comprises matching, by the computer system, acurrent user's characteristics to characteristics of prior users,wherein matching includes filtering prior user actions scored by themodeling component responsive to matching the current user'scharacteristics to prior users, wherein the act of receiving from a userinterface displayed to a user the search selection includes capturingthe search selection responsive to a user adding a product to an onlineshopping cart, wherein the method further comprises an act of displayingthe search results as additional selection options within the onlineshopping cart, wherein the act of receiving from a user interfacedisplayed to a user the search selection includes capturing the searchselection responsive to a user navigating within an ecommerce website,wherein the search results identified by the search component aredisplayed to the user as additional selection options within theecommerce site.

Still other aspects, embodiments, and advantages of these exemplaryaspects and embodiments, are discussed in detail below. Any embodimentdisclosed herein may be combined with any other embodiment in any mannerconsistent with at least one of the objects, aims, and needs disclosedherein, and references to “an embodiment,” “some embodiments,” “analternate embodiment,” “various embodiments,” “one embodiment” or thelike are not necessarily mutually exclusive and are intended to indicatethat a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described inconnection with the embodiment may be included in at least oneembodiment. The appearances of such terms herein are not necessarily allreferring to the same embodiment. The accompanying drawings are includedto provide illustration and a further understanding of the variousaspects and embodiments, and are incorporated in and constitute a partof this specification. The drawings, together with the remainder of thespecification, serve to explain principles and operations of thedescribed and claimed aspects and embodiments.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Various aspects of at least one embodiment are discussed below withreference to the accompanying figures, which are not intended to bedrawn to scale. Where technical features in the figures, detaileddescription or any claim are followed by reference signs, the referencesigns have been included for the sole purpose of increasing theintelligibility of the figures, detailed description, and claims.Accordingly, neither the reference signs nor their absence are intendedto have any limiting effect on the scope of any claim elements. In thefigures, each identical or nearly identical component that isillustrated in various figures is represented by a like numeral. Forpurposes of clarity, not every component may be labeled in every figure.The figures are provided for the purposes of illustration andexplanation and are not intended as a definition of the limits of theinvention. In the figures:

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a system for generating customizedrecommendations, according to one embodiment;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a recommendation system in an exampleenvironment, according to one embodiment;

FIG. 3 is an example process flow for scoring historic user activity,according to one embodiment;

FIG. 4 is an example process flow for generating user models, accordingto one embodiment;

FIG. 5 is an example process flow for generating customized contentdisplays, according to one embodiment;

FIGS. 6A-B are example logo designs, according to one embodiment;

FIGS. 7A-B are screen captures of example user interfaces, according toone embodiment;

FIG. 8 is a screen capture of an example user interface, according toone embodiment;

FIG. 9A is a screen capture of an example user interface, according toone embodiment;

FIG. 9B is a screen capture of an example user interface, according toone embodiment;

FIG. 10 is a screen capture of an example user interface, according toone embodiment;

FIG. 11 is a screen capture of an example user interface, according toone embodiment;

FIG. 12 is a screen capture of an example user interface, according toone embodiment;

FIG. 13 is a screen capture of an example user interface, according toone embodiment;

FIG. 14 is a screen capture of an example user interface, according toone embodiment;

FIG. 15 is a screen capture of an example user interface, according toone embodiment; and

FIG. 16 is a block diagram of a general purpose computer system on whichvarious aspects can be practiced.

FIG. 17 is a conceptual data model for classifying information obtainedon search and/or user behavior, according to one embodiment;

FIG. 18 is a process flow for generating and sorting search resultsaccording to one embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

As described above, traditional methods of optimizing search results andrecommendations can fail to provide contextually relevantrecommendations and/or search results. Further, conventional approachescan fail to deliver results and recommendations that are configured toachieve specific user behaviors and/or specific business goals, forexample, of the entity providing the search functionality. Accordingly,there is a need for systems and methods of result optimization and/orrecommendation generation that deliver search results and/or productrecommendations based on a likelihood of achieving a specific behaviorand/or business goal.

According to one embodiment, a system is provided that includes acustomization engine that receives search activity from users. As anexample, the search activity can include user input search terms, searchnavigation, browser selections, etc. The system and/or customizationengine can be configured to process the search activity to modifydisplays of relevant products, images, or other content to the user. Thesystem and/or engine can be configured to generate such results or othercomputer content to drive the viewing user to a specific end result. Inone embodiment, the system analyzes user interactions and user collecteddata to build user models. The system can develop user models based onhistoric data of other users that have exhibited specific patterns(e.g., viewed this object, set of objects, etc., resulting in a purchaseof one or more objects) or specific interactions with content (e.g.,search on “term,” accessed a result, or ended a search session). Thesystem can develop a multitude of user models that characterizepotential future users.

According to other embodiments, the system can implement a model thatprocesses information on a current user (e.g., current language,previous activity, any on-line trail, any user profile, etc.) to filterand/or weight historical information relevant to a respective user.Based on similarity between any one or more of a current user'spatterns, user interactions, etc., the system can deliver optimizedresults to increase the likelihood of achieving a successful end resultfrom the user (e.g., the end result can be a purchase, finding desiredinformation, etc.).

Examples of the methods, devices, and systems discussed herein are notlimited in application to the details of construction and thearrangement of components set forth in the following description orillustrated in the accompanying drawings. The methods and systems arecapable of implementation in other embodiments and of being practiced orof being carried out in various ways. Examples of specificimplementations are provided herein for illustrative purposes only andare not intended to be limiting. In particular, acts, components,elements and features discussed in connection with any one or moreexamples are not intended to be excluded from a similar role in anyother examples.

Also, the phraseology and terminology used herein is for the purpose ofdescription and should not be regarded as limiting. Any references toexamples, embodiments, components, elements or acts of the systems andmethods herein referred to in the singular may also embrace embodimentsincluding a plurality, and any references in plural to any embodiment,component, element or act herein may also embrace embodiments includingonly a singularity. References in the singular or plural form are notintended to limit the presently disclosed systems or methods, theircomponents, acts, or elements. The use herein of “including,”“comprising,” “having,” “containing,” “involving,” and variationsthereof is meant to encompass the items listed thereafter andequivalents thereof as well as additional items. References to “or” maybe construed as inclusive so that any terms described using “or” mayindicate any of a single, more than one, and all of the described terms.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an example system 100 for optimizingreturned content 106 for display on a computer system, responsive touser behavior 102, including, for example, user search activity.According to one embodiment, system 100 can include a customizationengine 104 configured to process user behavior 102 and modify contentdisplays (e.g., 106) shown to the user based on analyzing the userand/or the user's behavior against user model(s). Alternatively, thesystem 100 can perform the functions and/or operations discussed withrespect to customization engine 104 and/or other system componentsitself and need not include specific components configured to performthe discussed functions and/or operations.

According to one embodiment, system 100, engine 104, and/or elements ofthe system can be implemented on a specially configured general purposecomputer system (e.g., computer system 1600 and/or 1602 discussed belowwith respect to FIG. 16). According to various examples, the engine 104when executing can be configured to analyze user behavior, determine asimilar user/behavior model, and modify content displays shown to theuser in order to drive the user to a specific act and/or activity.

In one embodiment, the system 100 and/or engine 104 can include amodeling component 108 configured to generate user models. The modelingcomponent 108 can also be configured to modify existing modelsdynamically. For example, as new user behavior information is collected,the modeling component can update existing user models based on newlycollected or received behavior information.

According to one embodiment, the modeling component 108 can beconfigured to capture or receive information on any one or more of: useronline interactions, specific website interactions, user(s) viewingsections of website(s), viewing web-page(s), viewing content, viewingobjects, viewing products, achieving identified goals (e.g., clicking onpre-defined selection(s) on a website, executing identified navigationoptions on a website, making a product purchase, etc.), or applicationsa user accesses or uses. Some examples of model information collectedcan include, any one or more of: clicking on certain objects on-line,adding objects to a shopping cart, mouse movements, viewing an object inuser interface delivered from a website, dwell time associated with apage, object, and/or site, a product, a webpage, or spending extra timeon a particular page or in front of a object, among other options.

In further embodiments, the modeling component 108 is configured tocapture or receive information on the language the user is employing,and any language associated with the user's activity (e.g., displaylanguage of a site), language associated with displayed ads, content,among other options. The user's activity can be associated and/orindexed on an identified language. The system can be configured to matchusers to models such that for subsequent users interacting with the sameor similar environment (e.g., same language), personalizations andrecommendations can be delivered by the system independent of meaning ofthe language being employed.

According to one embodiment, the system 100 and/or engine 104 caninclude a matching component 110 configured to match a current user toexisting user models. The matching component 110 can be configured touse information captured on the current user to determine a match with auser model. Each user model developed by the modeling component can begenerated to emphasize a variety of historical user behaviors. Based onsimilarity between the current user and previous user, the system canidentify the user model most likely to describe the current user'sbehavior, for example, on a retail website.

In some embodiments, the matching component 110 can be configured tomatch current users to historical user behavior. The matching component110 can be configured to analyze any one or more of: current language,any user entered information (e.g., age, company name, actual name,search text entered by the user, demographic information, user profileinformation, user history, etc), and user generated information (e.g.,content contribution to a website, posted pictures, postedwrite-ups/text/notes, etc.), and location based information (e.g.,current geography of user) among other options. In further examples, thesystem and/or matching component 110 can use visually capturedinformation on users, including, for example, user facial expressions,type of clothing, environment, etc., to identify matching user models.In yet other examples, pictures posted of the user can be analyzed tocapture user facial expressions, type of clothing, photographedenvironment, etc. In some embodiments, visual information can becaptured from video feeds, in-store cameras, or captured from imageinformation posted by the user.

Based on accumulated information for a current user, the system canidentify matching models and display relevant content. The relevantcontent can be automatically generated by the system based on otherpeople/users that exhibit similar characteristics or have similar data.Further, the modeling information can also include weightings fordesired user activity. For example, the user model information can beconfigured to favor user behavior leading to a product purchase over aproduct view. Such weightings can be modified based a degree ofmatching. In further examples, weighting of model information, includingbehavior and user activity, can be weighted based on a level ofinteraction. For example, within a retail site levels of interaction candepend on steps required to make a purchase. The further along the userbehavior is towards completing a purchase the higher the weightingassociated with the user's activity.

According to some embodiments, the user models link previous userbehavior to desired outcomes. For example, on the retail website, theuser model can indicate an increased likelihood of consummating a salebased on viewing of a number of specific products and/or performingspecific activities on the retail site. The system 100 can be configuredto deliver those specific products to the user (e.g., based oninformation derived by the matching component 108). According to oneembodiment, the system 100 and/or engine 104 can include a customizationcomponent 112. The customization component 112 can be configured todynamically alter content displays shown to a user. The content displaysdelivered by the customization component 112 can be configured toachieve desired outcomes associated with whatever website the currentuser is interacting.

According to one embodiment, the customization component 112 isconfigured to generate customized displays, for example, by includingdisplays of a plurality of products linked to a desired user action,wherein the plurality of products are determined based on a matched usermodel. In one example, search results that would be returned in responseto user search terms can be augmented, re-ordered, and/or replaced bythe customized displays (having the plurality of products identifiedand/or ordered based on user/activity modeling) generated by thecustomization component. In addition, the customized displays can beinserted into or used to present search results determined based onmodel information and information on content likely to lead to a desiredaction. For example, advertising banners can be inserted into websitesaccessed by a user. The advertising banner displays can be determinedand/or generated by the customization component 112.

In some examples, the customization component 112 selects products todisplay based on scores associated with respective products. The scoringfor each product can be generated based on historical user actions bythe modeling component 108. The historical actions used to score therespective products can be filtered by the matching component 110 soonly similar users' activity affects a given score. Each score can alsodepend on a desired business goal. In the custom product environment, anexample business goal can include a custom product purchase. In oneexample, any actions that lead to a custom product purchase are assigneda respective score and associated with the custom product. Thecustomization component 112 can be configured to select from a pluralityof custom products based on highest scores.

According to some embodiments, system 100 can be implemented inconjunction with other services delivered to user populations. Forexample, system 100 can be implemented as part of a search engineservice, an ecommerce site, and a product fabrication site, among otheroptions.

Example Recommendation Environments

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of an example environment 200 in which arecommendation system 202 can be implemented. Users 204 access, forexample, online e-commerce sites 206 to purchase goods and/or services.The users 204 are able to access any number of sites via a communicationnetwork 208 (e.g., the Internet). The sites can be hosted by a varietyof systems (e.g., search engine site hosted by system 210, advertisingsystem 212, among other options).

The recommendation system 202 can be configured to capture informationfrom the on-line sites to associate user behavior with commerciallydesired actions. As discussed above, the system 202 can use historicaldata captured from systems 206, 210, and 212 to build user models thatassociated user behavior with desired action. In some embodiments, thesystem 202 is configured to implement a point system. User actions on asite are tracked and assigned a point value where the user action leadsto a desired result (e.g., a purchase of a product). The point systemcan be used additively to identify user actions having the most value interms of accomplishing a result.

In the context of the e-commerce site 206, the system 202 is configuredto track user activity, score the user activity as part of a behaviormodel, and deliver customized results to subsequent users. In oneexample, the system captures or receives user behavior information overa period of time (e.g., the past 30 days). Similar search patterns(e.g., five users search the e-commerce site for “beach ball”) areidentified and used to customize search results delivered to subsequentusers. For the first user executing the search “beach ball” conventionalsearch results can be displayed (e.g., relevancy ranked results may bedisplayed). The results will typically include a number of productsrelated to the terms “beach ball.” In one example, relevancy rankedresults can be displayed with a first product having an identifier(e.g., “54575”) first and a second product having a second identifier(e.g., “56711”) second in the list of results.

Responsive to user activity, the system 202 can be configured to affectthe selection of a pool of results to return and can also be configuredto order any results return based on action and/or behavior models onprevious users and/or searches. According to some embodiments, system202 can be configured to identify search results based, at least inpart, on behavior models that reflect actions/behavior taken by previoususers or based on previous searches. In further embodiments, the system202 can be configured to order any set of search results based on thebehavior models.

In one example, the system links behavior and/or actions to searchesand/or the products that are the subject of the search or activity.Subsequent users engaging in similar searches (e.g., identified by thesame search terms, similar search terms, etc.), can see the results ofthe previous behavior, even, for example, where a search result ismissing information (e.g., not tagged according to conventional searchapproaches). In another example, action/behavior based associations canbe used by the system to return results based on an entered synonym. Inyet another example, a subsequent user can enter an entirely differentword (e.g., “comforter” instead of “duvet”), based on activity/behaviormodeling the system can still return relevant results based irrespectiveof the incorrectly entered word (e.g., modeling on user/search activityrenders the difference in meaning of “comforter” and “duvet” irrelevantin the generated results).

For example, the system is configured to determine that people whopreviously searched on “duvets” also interacted with itemscalled/described as “comforters.” In some embodiments, the system canlearn from tracking user activity associated with search resultsobtained on “duvets” and tracking subsequent activity where the userinteracts with products called/described as “comforters.” The systemautomatically learns the association between duvet and comforter basedon user activity and does not need to resort to synonyms tables,dictionaries, etc. The system can be configured to learn such actionbased associations whenever users interact with digital objects (e.g.,search results, product lists, etc.). Further, the system can beconfigured to display matches for both comforters and duvets evenwithout information defining the two as synonyms. Further embodiments,are configured to minimize language barriers in a similar manner, suchthat system administrators do not need to tag a product in everylanguage to have the product returned to searches entered in eachlanguage. Rather, the system associates previous behavior/actions (e.g.,with search terms that lead to the user activity) and based onidentifying similar users and/or searches, and the system deliversrelevant results irrespective of the meaning of the words entered in tothe search. In one example, the associations generated by the systemgenerate language independent models of behavior and return results tosearches based on the models.

To provide a hypothetical scenario: of the five users, the systemcaptures search text of “beach ball.” One of the five initiates a nextlevel activity towards a product purchase. The one user saves a producthaving the identifier “56711” to their shopping cart. The search terms“beach ball” are associated with five users by the system. The action“save the product in cart” is likewise stored by the system. The actioncan also be associated with a score or weight. As the action is a firststep in purchasing a product the score or weight can be relatively lowcompared to an actual purchase. For example, if two users of the fiveactually purchase the product having the identifier “56711” thatactivity can be scored relatively higher than the save activity.

If the 4^(th) user adds product 54575 to their cart without a purchasethe relative scoring based on actual user activity (which can beweighted by level of completion) increases the score for product 54575but product 56711 will displayed first (e.g., as display 216) incontrast to relevancy ranking of the search results. Product 54575 willbe displayed second is the set of results.

In some embodiments, the system 202 can score user activity and augmentresults based on activity received from respective systems. In otherembodiments, the user activity with respect to the ecommerce site can beaggregated and used to optimize results delivered on other systems(e.g., search engine system 210 and advertising system 212). In furtherembodiments, system 202 can capture or receive information from off-lineuser activity and incorporate that information into user modeling andscoring. For example, physical retail outlets (e.g., 214) cancommunicate user behavior information based on completed purchases,store visits, customer inquiries, etc. In some embodiments, informationon consumers can be captured via video as well as based on completedpurchases.

Although environment 200 illustrates systems 202, 206, 210, and 212separately, system 202 can be implemented locally on the respectivesystems to provide optimization/recommendation functions discussedherein. In further embodiments, system 202 can include local componentsthat execute at respective systems 206, 210, and 212. The localcomponents can optimize content displays based on historic userbehavior. Further the local components can be configured to communicateuser behavior and associated actions to a central repository (e.g.,202). In such an architecture, the local component can provide foraugmented or optimized results at respective systems, and the centralrepository can be used to aggregate and update user models/behavior andactivity information for user as the respective systems.

Further user scenarios for environment 200, includes optimizing searchresults returned by a search engine accessed by users 204. For example,system 210 which hosts the search engine accessible by user 204, cancapture user behavior and associate the user behavior with a desiredresults (e.g., conclude search activity). In one example scenario: overthe past 30 days five users type in to a search on a search engine site“beach ball.” Of the five users one of the users visits sitewww.56711.com and views 5 pages within that domain. In the examplescenario, the system can be configured to score multiple accesses withina result domain higher relative to a single access to a result domain.Two of the five users view one page within the domain and leave thesite. A 4^(th) user visits site www.56888.com after entering “beach ballas search terms and viewed 5 pages within that domain. In response tothe user behavior associated with search terms “beach ball, the nexttime a user searches for “beach ball” site www.56711.com will be rankedcloser to the top of the search results listed for the search “blueball” by the system.

In another scenario online advertising campaigns can be optimized todeliver results based on user history. For example, over a period oftime (e.g., the previous 30 days) five users type in to a search on aecommerce site “beach ball”—one of those users saves a product 56711 totheir shopping cart, two users purchase product 56711, and the 4^(th)user adds product 54575 to their cart without purchasing. The next timea user searches for “beach ball” on the site, an advertising systemwhich can feed recommendations from a recommendation system and/orinclude a recommendation component (e.g., system 202 and/or engine 104)will generate banner advertisements for display to the user includingimages of product 56711 as the user continues to browse the internet.

As discussed, the system 202 can analyze “off-line” information todevelop user behavior information. For example, in a physical retaillocation—the system can receive information from in store point of salesystems, internal computer systems, surveillance information, etc. Inone embodiment, the system 202 can receive off-line information on thepast 30 days: where five males wearing sports jackets between ages of30-40 shop with the retail store. One of the five picks up product 56711but does not purchase, two people actual purchase product 56711, and the4^(th) user looks at product 54575 but does not purchase. The systemcaptures the characteristics of the shoppers and can generate usermodels that can then be used to evaluate a subsequent shopper. Forexample, the next time a male wearing a sports jacket (or similarjacket) between ages of 30-40 comes into the store, product 56711 willbe highlighted with advertising (e.g., on display systems within thestore) and/or promoted more throughout the store.

Example Processing

Various embodiments of recommendation/customization systems (e.g., 100and 202) can execute a variety of processes to deliver customizedcontent to users (e.g., shoppers) whether on-line or offline. FIG. 3illustrates an example process flow 300 for scoring historic useractivity. Process 300 begins at 302 with capture or receipt of useractivity information. In some settings, process 300 can be executed by arecommendation system that is integrated with an e-commerce site, anadvertising system, and/or a search engine system.

In such settings, the system can be configured to capture user activityas the users interact with integrated system functions (e.g., purchaseproducts on the e-commerce site, display ad banners, and/or processsearch queries). The capture or receipt of user activity information at302 can also include capture or receipt of user specific information.According to some embodiments, whether user activity information iscaptured or received depends on system architecture. In some examples,local components can capture user activity information directly. Inother examples, other systems and/or system elements can directlycapture user activity information and communicate such information forprocessing.

In some embodiments, demographic information on the respective userperforming actions can also be captured. In one example, the e-commercesite, advertising site, and/or search engine site can provide for userregistration. Registration functions can be used to identify specificusers and their respective activity. In addition, registration providesthe opportunity to capture demographic information on the user, whichcan be associated with historical user activity.

Once the respective user is identified, for example, via registrationinformation, that identification information can be captured as the useraccesses content, views content, or executes functionality. In someembodiments, the identification information can include demographicinformation on the user (e.g., male, female, age, education, location,etc.). Additional information that may be captured or received includes:a current display language for a website, user entered information(e.g., age, company name, actual name, search text entered by the user),demographic information, user profile information, user history, usergenerated information (e.g., content contribution to a website, postedpictures, posted write-ups/text/notes, etc.), location based information(e.g., current geography of user), among other options. In furtherexamples, identification information can include visually capturedinformation on users, including, for example, user facial expressions,type of clothing, environment, etc., all of which may be associated withthat user's activity.

In yet other examples, pictures posted of the user can be analyzed tocapture user facial expressions, type of clothing, photographedenvironment, etc. In some embodiments, visual information can becaptured from video feeds, in-store cameras, web-cameras, or capturedfrom image information posted by the user.

In some examples, the user activity information and the user identifyinginformation can be captured or received separately and associated at304. In other examples, the user activity information and identifyinginformation can be captured or received together and saved, for example,at 304. In one example, the user identifying information can be used togenerate a user model. Respective user models can be generated tocapture common characteristics of users who perform certain actions(e.g., purchase product A, view product A, search on terms “searchstring,” etc.). Each user model can be associated with the respectiveuser activity or multiple activities.

In one embodiment, the system generates a user model that is associatedwith the respective activities of the users that were used to generatethe model. If subsequent users match patterns defined in the model(s),the models can then be used to identify actions likely to be relevant tothe subsequent user. Accordingly, customized content can be deliveredincluding highly relevant content.

According to one embodiment, scoring values are assigned to specificactivities and/or content items (e.g., a viewed product, search resultsreturned from a query, etc.) each time the specific activity occurs. Forexample, process 300 can include operations to access scoring rules at306, and assign a scoring value responsive to identifying a matchinguser activity.

According to one alternative, the scoring rules assign a weight value tomodify actions scores. For example, the system can assign a common scoreto every action and modify the common score based on weighting of theaction. In further alternatives, a common score can be assigned toclasses of actions and weighting values used to modify the common scoresaccordingly.

In some settings, the scoring rules can reflect how close the matchedactivity is to a desired business goal (e.g., purchase product, addproduct to cart, complete a review, or conclude search session, amongother options). In an ecommerce site setting, a typical goal can includeselling a product. The process of purchasing a product can be broken upinto steps or levels. For example, to complete a purchase a user mustview a product, add the product to a cart, and then complete purchase(e.g., submit payment information). In other embodiments additionalsteps or levels can be used to describe the process necessary to achievethe business objective (e.g., purchase). Various scoring rules can beimplemented to accommodate business objectives having various numbers ofsteps, with related scoring increasing as a user approaches the businessobjective. According to one embodiment, each step or level is assigned ascore where initial steps are assigned a relatively lesser score thaneach subsequent step until the business goal is achieved. For example,viewing an object can be assigned a point value of 0.5, adding theobject to a purchase cart can be assigned a value of 1.0 point, andexecuting a purchase 3.0 points. Each step towards purchase can bereflected in a scoring rule. In other embodiments, specific activitiescan be associated with points directly, regardless of steps or levels ofcompletion.

At 308, any associations and optionally scoring values can be associatedwith a content item. For example, if a user viewed product A, and viewedand purchased product B, the user information/scoring information can beassociated with product A and product B. In some examples, the userinformation can be incorporated into a user model and the user modelassociated with product A and product B at 308. In further embodiments,the scoring rules defined an additive scoring system. In one example, aseach user performs an activity with respect to a content item, the scorefor the content item increases. Various content listings can then beaugmented, ordered, re-ordered, and/or filtered based on relativescores.

Process 300 can be executed in conjunction with other functions,processes, etc. In some embodiments, scorings and/or association betweenany two of more of user activity, content score, and user identifyinginformation can be used by a recommendation/customization system togenerate customized content displayed to users. FIG. 4 is an exampleprocess 400 for generating user models. According to one embodiment,process 400 can be executed by a recommendation/customization system(e.g., 100 and 202) to deliver relevant content to an end user. In someexamples, the system can execute process 300 and 400 in conjunction,separately, or combine various steps of the respective processes. Infurther embodiments, the processes 300 and 400 can be executed withoutneed of executing each of the individual steps described. In yet otherembodiments, process 300 and/or 400 can be executed by the system toachieve any one or more of: analysis of user activity and/or searches togenerate search results to return to subsequent users, to sort searchresults delivered to subsequent users, and to generate search resultswith activity based ordering of the search results.

The process 400 begins at 402 with the capture or receipt of useractivity. As discussed above, user activity can include on-lineinteractions with a website (e.g., ecommerce site, search engine site,etc.) and/or off-line activities (e.g., real world store visits). Inconjunction, with the capture or receipt of user activity, useridentifying information can be accessed at 404. In some embodiments, asystem can capture identifying information directly. In one example, thesystem can access activity information through activity logs, monitorprocesses, rewards tracking, purchase tracking, etc. In otherembodiments, various systems for monitoring user activity, managingreward programs, etc., can be configured to communicate user identifyinginformation for process at 404.

At 406, user activity and user identifying information is used togenerate user models. According to one embodiment, the user modelsdescribe characteristics of a subset of a user population who performthe same activity or activities, for example, with respect to viewedcontent on a web site. One example model: specifies that for users whoare male, age between 30-40, and wear a sports jacket, when shopping ina Brand store, products A and/or B are particularly relevant (e.g.,users having such characteristics historical purchase or view products Aand B over others).

Process 400 can be optional in generation customized contentrecommendations. In some examples, that a particular user is performingactivity in a similar setting (e.g., same website, same language, etc.)can be sufficient to employ any related user history information.Explicit matching to a user model is some settings can be omitted.

FIG. 5 is an example process flow 500 for generating customized contentfor an end-user. The process 500 begins at 502 with processing useractivity. For example, the user activity can include specifying imagesand text to include on a custom product design. In another example, theuser activity can include searches executed in a search engine.Responsive to the user activity, candidate results are generated at 504.If the user is creating a custom product, the custom product system canbe configured to display a variety of configurations of the design. At504, the configuration options can be defined as candidates to displayto the user. According to one embodiment, the candidates are evaluatedto determine their relevancy to the user. At 506, historical activity(e.g., prior user actions associated with respective candidates)associated with the candidates is accessed. The historical activityinformation can be filtered based on information associated with acurrent user and information associated with the respective users whoperformed the historic activity, for example, at 508 YES. In someembodiments, historic activity information can be filtered based onmatching a current user and respective identifying information to a usermodel at 508 YES.

If the activity is filtered, then the candidate results can be rankedbased on associated historic activity at 512. In one example, respectivehistoric activity is used to generate scores for respective candidateresults. According to some embodiments, scoring rules are accessed togenerate the respective scores. In some embodiments, the scoring rulescan include the operations discussed below with respect to a search andsort framework. In some examples, the scoring rules can be tailored tospecific business objectives (e.g., purchase a product, complete asearch, complete a review, etc.). Once scored, the candidate results canthen be ordered, ranked, and/or filtered based on their respectivescore. According to one embodiment, the highest scores reflect candidateitems that are the most relevant to the current user in terms of thebusiness objective.

Once the candidate results are ordered, customized contentdisplays/recommendations can be presented at 514. In one alternative, ifno filtering is used 508 NO, candidate results can be ranked on allavailable historic user activity at 510. The resulting ordering ofcandidate results can likewise be used to generate customized contentdisplays/recommendations at 514.

In some embodiments, user models and user activity information can beused to identify links between products, search results, etc. Customizeddisplays, for example, generated at 514, can also includerecommendations for related products, based on historical activity. Forexample, if a user viewed and purchased product A, and then also viewedand purchased product B, the two content items (e.g., product A andproduct B) can be associated with each other. Responsive to theinclusion of product A or product B in a set of candidate results,either of A or B can be included respectively.

Custom Product Website Example

A customization/recommendation system (e.g. 100, FIG. 1, and 202, FIG.2) can be implemented in variety of environments. In one example, thesystem can be implemented in conjunction with a website for designingand/or generating customized products. In particular, the custom productsite can feature custom logo creation and integration of custom designswith product templates (e.g., business cards, coffee mugs, t-shirts,novelty items, greeting cards, holiday cards, etc.). One example websiteis located at web address: freelogoservices.com, which can provide,among other options, interactive user interfaces for generatingcustomized logos and/or text.

According to one embodiment, system 100 can be implemented inconjunction with the site and associated services to provide customizedpredictions and/or recommendations for logo designs and/or productdesigns. In one example, the customized predictions/recommendations aregenerated by the system based on historical user activity on thefreelogoservices.com site. For example, the system and/or modelingcomponent 108 can associate business actions (e.g., purchase a customlogo, purchase custom product, save a custom logo to a shopping cart,etc.) with online and/or offline activity for the user population thataccesses freelogoservices.com. In some embodiments, users register withthe freelogoservices site and provide demographic information that isstored as part of the user's account profile. In some embodiments,respective users' activity on the site can be associated withinformation on the respective user (e.g., from the account information)performing the activity. In one embodiment, the matching component 110can determine matches between a current user and the users associatedwith the historic activity information. The matching component 110 canfilter historic activity data based on similarity or matches between thecurrent user and the users performing desired actions. The historicactivity can be used to customized recommendations and/or displayspresent to the current user on freelogoservices.com.

In some embodiments, content items made available on the site (e.g.,logo design) are automatically tagged with information on whether usersperformed actions with respect to the content item (e.g., viewed, addedto shopping chart, purchased, etc.). In further embodiments, the taggingcan include associations to user information on the users who performedthe activity. In some examples, the user information can be stored aspart of a “user model” where similarity to the user model is used todetermine what historical activity is particularly relevant to a currentuser.

According to one embodiment, the system can implement a point basedmethodology for scoring content items available on the site (e.g.,custom logos, custom products designs, etc.). Each action that isassociated with purchasing a good can be assigned a relative score,where scores increase as a user performs activities closer to a finalpurchase. Scoring may be additive across specific actions and acrossdistinct users.

In some examples, the system 100, engine 104, and/or modeling component108 can score user behavior and associated activity based on addingpoints to respective content items (e.g., respective products). Thecontent items (e.g., products) with the highest score are identified bythe system as having the greatest likelihood of being relevant to aparticular user. In some embodiments, the customization component 112 isconfigured to identify content items to display based on the scoresdetermined by the modeling component which can be tailored and/orfiltered based on operation of the matching component 110.

According to one aspect, the system implements a search andrecommendation capability that accesses and/or evaluates thousands oflogo image template options, billions of search text possibilities,across more than 10 languages. As discussed, the system uses previoususer interactions with each logo icon template and/or any text theprevious users entered to create a list of logo options. According toone embodiment, the system scores previous user activity based on atleast three signals. The three signals can include any one or more ofthe follow user actions:

-   -   (1) logo was saved with text (or without)—this action receives a        1 point weighting according to the scoring rules;    -   (2) logo was purchased with text (or without)—this action        receives a 2 point weighting according to the scoring rules; and    -   (3) logo customized and the user went to an editor with the        text—this action receives a 0.5 point weighting according to the        scoring rules.

According to one embodiment, the system implements search functionalityto access various logo designs/logo icon templates. In one example, thesystem orders results such that, responsive to search input, candidateresults are ordered according to a scoring of respective user historyinformation. For example, if the word “boat” is entered in a searchtool, boat styled logos receive the highest point scores and show upfirst (once enough user history data have been accumulated). In oneexample, conventional relevancy searching can be implemented andaugmented by point based ordering. If there is not enough user historydata conventional relevancy ranking of results can be used. A hypotheticscenario is described to illustrate some aspects of the scoring of logoimage templates (or other content items). The hypothetical scenario isnot intended to be limiting.

Example User Scenario

User 1: types “boat” in a text input box for type of logo, selects, andsaves the logo picture template, 600, FIG. 6A. In response to the user'sactivity, the logo 600 is associated with user information for the userwho selected 600, the text input used to describe the logo “boat,” andcan further be assigned a point value for the action, for example, basedon scoring rules. In this hypothetical, the logo 600 is assigned 1point.

User 2: types “boat,” designs and purchases logo 600, FIG. 6A. Inresponse to the user's activity, the logo 600 is associated with userinformation for the user who selected 600 (e.g., user 2), the text inputused to describe the logo “boat,” and can further be assigned a pointvalue for the action, for example, based on scoring rules. In thishypothetical, the logo 600 is assigned 2 points based on the purchaseactivity.

User 3: types “boat,” designs and saves logo 610, FIG. 6B. In responseto the user's activity, the logo 610 is associated with user informationfor the user who selected 610 (e.g., user 3), the text input used todescribe the logo “boat,” and can further be assigned a point value forthe action, for example, based on scoring rules. In this hypothetical,the logo 610 is assigned 1 points based on the saving of the logo.

User 4: types “boat,” designs a logo, but does not save the logo 610. Inresponse to the user's activity, the logo 610 can be associated withuser information for the user who selected 610 (e.g., user 4), the textinput used to describe the logo “boat,” and can further be assigned apoint value for the action, for example, based on scoring rules. In thishypothetical, the logo 610 is assigned 0.5 points based on the designactivity.

User 5: types “boat,” designs logo 610, but does not save it. Inresponse to the user's activity, the logo 610 can be associated withuser information for the user who selected 610 (e.g., user 5), the textinput used to describe the logo “boat,” and can further be assigned apoint value for the action, for example, based on scoring rules. In thishypothetical, the logo 610 is assigned 0.5 points based on the designactivity.

User 6: types “boat,” designs logo 610, but does not save it—0.5 pointsare assigned to the logo 610. User 7: types “boat,” designs logo 610,but does not save it—0.5 points are assigned to the logo 610. User 8:types “boat,” designs and saves logo 610—1.0 point is assigned to logo610. At the conclusion of the eight user's activity logo 600 has 3points, and logo 610 has 4 points. In response to the next search on“boat,” the logo 610 is displayed first, and logo 600 displayed second.This result is in contrast to conventional methodologies, which wouldreturn images that include boats in response to a search for “boat”logos. Although logo 610 includes text “boat”, the image returned as thehighest ranked result resembles a floral pattern. According to oneembodiment, the current system does not require any understanding of themeaning of the text being search on, but rather uses historical useractivity to identify relevant search results. According to otherembodiments, such meaning agnostic approaches can be used acrossmultiple languages seamlessly, whereas conventional meaning basedapproaches can fail, due to the complexity of translation and nuance ofmultiple languages.

In some settings, the system is configured to provide searchcapabilities that are implemented across multiple languages. Asdiscussed, the need to handle multiple languages can overwhelmconventional recommendation approaches. In contrast, the system (e.g.,100) can adapt predictive recommendations to any language in which thesite is rendered. In some embodiments, the system is configured toautomatically capture an entire search string as it is entered, andassociate the entire search string with subsequent user activity (e.g.,view product A, purchased product B). Each action can be scored based ona desired business goal to further customize the selection of relevantlogos to display, which can be reflected in scoring rules.

Additionally, the language being used for displaying the site can alsobe captured and associated with any search string, and/or the subsequentaction. In one embodiment, by filtering historic activity based on acurrent display language (e.g., language displayed to the current user),the language element can be eliminated from consideration. The meaningof individual terms within the search string can likewise be discounted.In some embodiments, matches on the same or similar search stringswithin the custom product site are presumed to have similar meaningand/or context allowing the system to handle custom recommendationsacross multitudes of languages without requiring explicit understandingof the individual search terms. For example, historic user activity canbe used to score logo design options. The historic activity can befiltered on a current language, and in some embodiments on matchingcharacteristics between the current user and the users who generated thehistoric activity. For example, user characteristics and historical useractivity can be associated with logo designs available onfreelogoservices.com. In further examples, a score can also beassociated with the logo designs. The system can then present thehighest scored logo designs based on matching user characteristicsand/or previous user activity.

As discussed above, further refinements of the scoring approaches caninclude filtering of historical activity to include current usercharacteristics, and/or characteristic of the user who generated thehistorical activity. In some embodiments, historical user activity forusers who do not match a current user can still be used in determiningscore. For example, the scoring rules can be applied to the un-matchedactivity, and in one example, discounted. In one alternative, differentscoring rules can be applied to un-matched activity.

Other embodiments can include scoring rules with relative scoring ofuser activity based on a level of completion towards a business goalassociated, for example, with a web site. For example,freelogoservices.com can be organized as a series of steps or levelsnecessary to purchase a custom product (e.g., a logo design). Level 1can include actions necessary to design a logo. Level 2 can includesaving a potential design. Level three can include adding the designinto a shopping cart, and level 4 can include the actual purchase of thedesign/products having the design. Each level can be assigned scoringvalues the increases as a user would get closer to an actual purchase.

In a search engine setting, the level may reflect entry of search terms,selection of a search results, and conclusion of a search session. Inone example, conclusion of the search session can be the business goal.Identifying the conclusion of a search session can include determiningthat the user concluded the search based on subsequent user actions(e.g., based on exiting the search functionality, user does not returnto search results, user does not refine search, etc.). Other actionlevels can include multiple accesses to a particular domain of a searchresult site. In one example, a single access to a domain of a searchresult can be scored with a level, while multiple accesses are scored asanother level towards a completed search session. In other embodiments,scoring rules can be implemented without levels, and specific actionsgiven respective scores.

Returning to the freelogoservices.com example, the website can bedesigned to facilitate the purchase of a custom product (e.g., a customlogo design). For some embodiments, the site can be configured todisplay to each user a plurality (e.g., 20-30) of logos that are highlyrelevant (based on user activity scoring) to what a user is looking tocreate on the freelogoservices site. Thus, the system can be configuredto execute search capabilities that can display the right subset oflogos out of 1000's of potential logo options for each user.

According to some embodiments, the freelogoservices.com site providesaccess to thousands if not millions of potential logo designs. Thesystem can be configured to narrow thousands/millions of options to arelevant subset of 10-30 logos, responsive to previous user activity.The previous user activity can include any one or more of input of: alogo category, logo text, logo type, among other options. Accordingly,the system can be configured to narrow millions of options to a relevantsubset of 10-30 logos. In some embodiments, the system 100, engine 104,and/or modeling component 108 includes scoring rules specific to contentitems provided on freelogoservices.com (e.g., logo designs). Accordingto some embodiments, scoring rules can be specifically tailored to arespective web site on which they are implemented. For example, searchengine rules can vary from scoring rules for a product purchase site, oran advertising delivery service.

Search Site Example

A customization/recommendation system (e.g. 100, FIG. 1, and 202, FIG.2) can be implemented in variety of environments. In one example, thesystem can be implemented in conjunction with a website for executingsearch functionality. The search functionality can include searching onproducts for purchase and/or digital content items (e.g., onlineresource, articles, information, etc.).

According to one embodiment, system 100 can be implemented inconjunction with the website and associated services to providecustomized predictions and/or recommendations for search results and/oradditional recommendations delivered in conjunction with search results.In one example, the customized predictions-recommendations are generatedby the system based on historical user activity on the accessed website.For example, the system and/or modeling component 108 can associatebusiness actions (e.g., purchase a product, enter search terms and add aresult to a shopping cart, enter search terms and conclude searchsession, execute search and add descriptive information to a result,etc.) with online and/or offline activity for the user population thataccesses the website. In some embodiments, users register with thewebsite and provide demographic information. In one example, thedemographic information can be stored as part of a user's accountprofile. In some embodiments, respective users' activity on the site canbe associated with information on the respective user (e.g., from theuser's account information) performing the activity.

In one embodiment, the matching component 110 can determine matchesbetween a current user and the users associated with the historicactivity information. The matching component 110 can filter historicactivity data based on similarity or matches between the current userand the users performing desired actions. The historic activity (e.g.,filtered and unfiltered) can be used to customize recommendations and/ordisplays presented to the current user on the website. For example, thesearch results can be customized and/or additional suggestions can bepresented. In one embodiment, the historic activity is used by thesystem to score user actions, score search results, etc., and thecustomized and/or additional suggestions can be presented based onrespective scoring.

In some embodiments, content items made available on the website areautomatically tagged with information on whether users performed actionswith respect to the content item (e.g., viewed, entered search terms,selected a result for review, added to a shopping cart, purchased,concluded a search session, etc.). In further embodiments, the taggingcan include associations to user information on the users who performedthe activity. In some examples, the user information can be stored aspart of a “user model” where similarity to the user model is used todetermine what historical activity is particularly relevant to a currentuser.

According to one embodiment, the system can implement a point basedmethodology for scoring content items available on the site (e.g.,search results, matching products, etc). Each action that is associatedwith a content item good can be assigned a relative score, where scoresincrease as a user performs activities closer to a defined goal (e.g.,product purchase, conclude search, etc). Scoring may be additive acrossspecific actions and across distinct users. In some examples, the system100, engine 104, and/or modeling component 108 can score user behaviorand associated activity based on adding points to respective contentitems (e.g., respective products and/or search results). The contentitems (e.g., products) with the highest score are identified by thesystem as having the greatest likelihood of being relevant to aparticular user. In some embodiments, the customization component 112 isconfigured to identify content items to display based on the scoresdetermined by the modeling component which can be tailored and/orfiltered based on operation of the matching component 110.

According to one aspect, the system implements a search andrecommendation capability that accesses and/or evaluates hundreds ofthousands of content items, billions of search text possibilities,across more than 10 languages. As discussed, the system uses previoususer interactions with each content item and/or any text the previoususers entered to create a list of search result options.

According to one embodiment, the system does not require anyunderstanding of the meaning of the text being search on, but ratheruses historical user activity to identify relevant search results.According to other embodiments, such meaning agnostic approaches can beused across multiple languages seamlessly, whereas conventional meaningbased approaches can fail, due to the complexity of translation andnuance of multiple languages.

In some settings, the system is configured to provide searchcapabilities that are implemented across multiple languages. Asdiscussed, the need to handle multiple languages can overwhelmconventional recommendation approaches. In contrast, the system (e.g.,100) can adapt predictive recommendations to any language in which thesite is rendered. In some embodiments, the system is configured toautomatically capture an entire search string as it is entered, andassociate the entire search string with subsequent user activity (e.g.,view product A, purchased product B, conclude search session). Eachaction can be scored based on a desired business goal to furthercustomize the selection of relevant content items to display—which canbe reflected in scoring rules.

Additionally, the language being used for displaying the website canalso be captured and associated with any search string, and/or thesubsequent action. In one embodiment, by filtering historic activitybased on a current display language (e.g., language displayed to thecurrent user), the language element can be eliminated fromconsideration. The meaning of individual terms within the search stringcan likewise be discounted. In some embodiments, matches on the same orsimilar search strings within the web site are presumed to have similarmeaning and/or context allowing the system to handle customrecommendations across multitudes of languages without requiringexplicit understanding of the individual search terms. For example,historic user activity can be used to score search result options. Thehistoric activity can be filtered on a current language, and in someembodiments on matching characteristics between the current user and theusers who generated the historic activity. For example, usercharacteristics and historical user activity can be associated with thesearch result options available on the website. The system can thenpresent the highest scored search result options based on matching usercharacteristics and/or previous user activity.

As discussed above, further refinements of the scoring approaches caninclude filtering of historical activity to include current usercharacteristics, and/or characteristic of the user who generated thehistorical activity. In some embodiments, historical user activity forusers who do not match a current user can still be used in determiningscore. For example, the scoring rules can be applied to the un-matchedactivity, and in one example, discounted. In one alternative, differentscoring rules can be applied to un-matched activity.

Other embodiments can include scoring rules with relative scoring ofuser activity based on a level of completion towards a business goalassociated, for example, with a web site. In a search engine setting,the level may reflect entry of search terms, selection of a searchresults, and conclusion of a search session, among other options. In oneexample, conclusion of the search session can be the business goal.Identifying the conclusion of a search session can include determiningthat the user concluded the search based on subsequent user actions(e.g., based on exiting the search functionality, user does not returnto search results, user does not refine search, purchases one of thesearch results, views one of the search results, etc.). Other actionlevels can include multiple accesses to a particular domain of a searchresult site. In one example, a single access to a domain of a searchresult can be scored with a level, while multiple accesses are scored asanother level towards a completed search session. In other embodiments,scoring rules can be implemented without levels, and specific actionsgiven respective scores.

According to some embodiments, scoring rules can be specificallytailored to a respective web site on which they are implemented. Forexample, search engine rules can vary from scoring rules for a productpurchase site, or an advertising delivery service.

Search and Sort Framework Embodiments

According to some aspects, the system can score and deliver customizedrecommendations based on a search and sort framework that can be appliedacross multiple environments. For example, any website which allowsusers to search and retrieve results can be integrated into and/orexecuted in conjunction with the recommendation system.

According to one embodiment, information about search content can beclassified based on the type of information that is available. The typesof information can be classified according to the basis of the availableinformation. Further, the classified information can be used by thesystem to drive search and sort functionality provided to users.

According to some embodiments, information about searched items (e.g.,content items, custom products, logo designs, etc.) can be used inconjunction with any information about user's interest, (e.g., userentered search terms, user custom text, user entered properties, userdefined properties, etc,) associated with the searched items, andoptionally, information about user classification of the searches itemsor non-selected properties (e.g., acquisition channel, number of visits,activity off-site (e.g., browser trail or internet history), etc.) toimplement a search and/or sort framework for arecommendation/customization system (e.g., 100).

Shown in FIG. 17 is an example data model used by the system toimplement a search and sort framework. The search and sort framework caninclude at least three classifications of data available on searchablecontent. Information can be classified, indexed, and/or stored accordingto a respective classification. The classifications can include a type:“Standard” at 1702, which can be associated with information aboutsearchable content/items. In one example, standard information includesinformation that is provided with the searchable content/items whenlisted. In one example, products available for purchase are madesearchable in an on-line interface which can be presented on anecommerce site. The information provided in conjunction with theproducts (e.g., product name, product description, product price, etc.)are indexed as standard data items. In one embodiment, the standard dataitems can include a number of data elements that describe the data item.In one example, the data elements for standard data items can includetags (e.g., 1704) existing when the product is made searchable, name,(e.g. 1706), description (e.g., 1708), properties (e.g., 1710).According to some embodiments, a variety of properties can be defined onsearchable objects including, for example, text categories, for images,size, color, etc., and can also include free text properties orpre-defined properties.

In one embodiment, standard data can include static information aboutsearch items which can be indexed and/or saved in a search knowledgebase. For example, the static information can include known text fieldsthat describe the content item. The static information or known textfields can include product descriptions, item name, item description,and item properties. For example, in a custom product environment,static information can be associated with a data type: “standard.” Thestandard data type can be configured to accommodate data fields providedwith any content item (e.g., custom product, online product, productsearch result, etc.). In one example, a product for sale on-line willinclude a number of standard data fields. For example, product name,product description, and product properties.

Another classification of data that can be made available in asearchable knowledge base includes user entered information. In thecourse of searching for a specific content item (e.g., a desired searchresult, a desired product, an image, etc.) a user will enter information(e.g., search terms), interact with search options, and/or provideinformation that allows the user to narrow a set of search resultsreturned for their review. In one embodiment, the information entered bythe user is tracked by the system and captured as information about userinterests. Shown in FIG. 17 at 1712 is an example data category forcapturing and organizing data elements regarding user interest and/ordata elements for capturing and organizing data elements regarding selfreported user interest information. The data elements can include, forexample, search query information (e.g., 1714), which can be stored textinput, search navigation selections, facet selections (data facets caninclude descriptive information regarding a searchable object, searchresult, etc.), user custom text (e.g., 1716—where a user creates textassociated with an object), user entered properties for the searchableitem (e.g., 1718—where the user creates a descriptive property for thesearchable item). The user entered properties can be captured and/orsaved as text including, for example, a company name, logo text createdby the user, interests associated with the user entered by the user,among other options.

Shown at 1720 is another classification for information about a user,user classification information, or non-selected properties. In oneembodiment, information about users, classifications, or non-selectedproperties can be captured and organized as a user demographic data type(e.g., 1722). The user demographic data type can include a number ofdata elements. For example, the demographic data type can includedisplay language (e.g., 1724 browser display language), user language(e.g., user preference information on language), country (e.g., at1726), and current location. Other examples can include an acquisitionchannel data element, which can be associated with the user accessing asite or set of search results (e.g., at 1728 where an originatingsite-advertisement is credited for delivering a user), an activity dataelement (e.g., 1730) which can be associated with a number of visits toa particular site, and an activity off-site data element (e.g., 1732)which can be associated with visit to other websites and sitevisits/preferences that characterize a user.

According to one embodiment, each data element and/or each data categorycan also be associated with user activity related to search items (e.g.,at 1734). For example, user activity can be tracked for each searchitem, content item, etc., and linked to respective data elements. Theuser activity (e.g., user actions on results returned to a user query,additional search terms entered, user selection of a result, and/oron-line navigation to view a product/content item, user action to add aproduct to cart, purchase a product, access a specific search result,etc.) can be associated with the categories of information or dataelements described above, and further used by the system to execute asearch and sort framework for providing customized result setsresponsive to user search activity.

In some embodiments, the search and sort framework is used to customizedelivery of a set of search results. In one example, the search and sortframework is implemented within an ecommerce site to return productsand/or recommendations for purchase responsive to user activity withinthe ecommerce site. In another example, a pool of potential matches canbe determined based on matching data elements within the data categories(e.g., standard, user entered, and user demographics) responsive tosearch activity by a user. Optionally, in some embodiments, specificdata elements can be prioritized for matching and/or for presentingresults. Once the data pool of matching objects is identified, the poolof matching objects can be sorted. According to one embodiment, the poolof matching objects is sorted by assigning a sort score to objectswithin the pool of matching objects.

A variety of sort scoring rules can be implemented by variousembodiments. In one example, a sort score can be generated based on dataelements associated with each item in a pool of matching objects. Eachelement can have a respective score, which can be modified by a weight.For each object the respective elements score modified by theirrespective weights can be combined (e.g., added) to obtain a total sortscore for the object. In one example, the sort score is calculated basedon each individual element score multiplied by their weights and thencombined into a total sort score.

The scoring rules can reflect a plurality of scoring methods. Forexample, some conventional scoring (e.g., relevancy based search score)approaches can be implemented as part of delivering customized searchresults. According to some embodiments, the scoring rules may includescoring on occurrences where, for example, a search keyword exists in a% of returned items, or by density, wherein a search keyword exists as a% of the words describing a particular item. Scoring may also includeactivity based scoring. In some embodiments, activity based scoring canbe used alone to filter and/or sort customized search results. In otherembodiments, activity based scoring can be used in conjunction withconventional approaches.

According to one embodiment, activity based scoring includes scoringitems within a pool of results based on numbers of activity occurrence.For example, where the activity is numbers of clicks, each item within aresult pool will be evaluated on the number of click(s) each itemreceived (e.g., item 1 clicked 3 times, item 2 clicked 1 time, item 3clicked 0 times, etc. within the pool of results) to establish activityoccurrence.

Additional activity scoring can be based on activity weightedoccurrences. In one embodiment, activity item weighted occurrences canbe determined by analyzing the number of times a specific activity hasoccurred, based on matching search activity (e.g., query). For example,item 1 can be scored based on having been clicked 100 times where 3 ofthose click actions match the query entered by the current user (e.g.,returning a weighted activity score of 3%), and an item 2 has beenclicked 100 times with 10 of those click matching the query entered bythe current user (e.g., returning a weighted activity score of 10%). Anyuser activity can be captured (e.g., add to shopping cart, purchase,view, click, select (e.g., review additional detail on a product in auser interface), sub-select (e.g., review additional detail in a seconduser interface screen accessed through a first product display screen),etc.) with respective to content items and scored using activity basedscoring and/o

FIG. 18 shows an example process flow and data elements analyzed 1800,according to one embodiment. Responsive to search activity by a currentuser a pool of matches is generated from the universe of potentialcontent that may be returned. In one example, the universe of potentialmatches includes all unfiltered data accessible by the system. Forexample, the universe of potential matches can include all the productsstored in a products database. At 1802, a pool of potential results isgenerated based on matching the current user's search activity (e.g.,user entered search terms) to the available data. In one example,content items are analyzed to and filtered on matches within any typesof data associated with the content items (e.g., standard, user entered,and/or user demographic). In some embodiments, various data elements canbe prioritized (e.g., at 1804). The prioritized data elements can beused by the system to filter a pool of results which are then sorted forpresentation to the current user. At 1806, one example sort algorithm isillustrated (e.g., element score X weight+element score x weight). Asort score for each item is calculated. In one example, the sort scorecan be determined based on a contribution of conventional scoringmethodologies (e.g., occurrences and/or density at 1808) and activitybased scoring (e.g., activity occurrences and/or activity item weightedoccurrences at 1810). Each element of the score can be weighteddifferently depending on preference. In some embodiments, activity basedscores are heavily weighted to favor user activity.

Example User Interface and Example Flows

In one embodiment, the freelogoservices site can be configured with astep based approach to purchasing a custom product/creating a logodesign. In the first step the user can provide descriptive informationon the custom product they wish to create. For example, various textinput fields can be presented to elicit information on a logo thecurrent user wishes to design. Shown in FIG. 7A is an example userinterface 700 that can be accessed to begin creation and purchase of acustom logo. The user may specify a logo category (e.g., 702), text toinclude with the logo (e.g., 704), and a type of logo they wish tocreate (e.g., 706, FIG. 7A). The interface can be configured to acceptmultiple lines of logo text (e.g., 708). In some embodiments, the useris prompted to input their name (e.g., first and last 710-712). Otheruser information can be required, country 714, e-mail 716, and phone718. In one example, by default the logo category is selected as “other”to provide access to all available logos. In one alternative, the logocategory field can be blank where a user has not selected a category.Once the user has input required information, the user may select 720“Choose a Design” to move to the next step of the design process.

According to one embodiment, the user's selections can be captured bysystem (for example, in FIGS. 7A-8) and the system can be configured togenerate a query based on the user's selections. In one embodiment, thesearch results can be returned as candidate product selections, wherethe candidate product selections are ordered according to an activityscore (for example, generated as part of execution of the search andsort framework discussed above).

In some embodiments, the user interfaces may vary based on whether a newuser is creating a logo (e.g., FIG. 7A) or a returning user is creatinga logo (e.g., user interface 750 of FIG. 7B). Returning users can beprovided header displays for navigating within the freelogoservices site(e.g., at 752). The header 752 can identify the current user “Matt,” anyavailable saved products (e.g., “Saved Logos and Cards (7)), and otherfunctions accessible on the site: Create a Logo, Create a Business Card,Your Account—for defining account information and user profileinformation, Help, and sign out functions, among other options. Userinterface 750 can also include a status display 754 reflecting steps forcompleting a purchase of a custom logo. According to one embodimentstatus display 754 can include a progress bar showing each step: “1.Logo Text,” “2. Choose Design,” “3. Colors & Fonts,” and “4. Save &Download.” According to one embodiment, user activity within each stepcan be scored according to the step in which the activity occurred.Highlights within the status bar can be configured to reflect a currentstep or level (e.g., at 756). Page listing information can also beconfigured to reflect a status for creating the custom logo (e.g., 758).At 760, information for the logo the user wishes to create can be input(e.g., logo category, first line of logo text, second ling of logo text,and type of logo, among other options). Once input, the user may processby selecting 762 “Choose a Design.”

Alternatively, user may access account information by selecting “YourAccount” in the header bar 752. FIG. 8 is an example user interface 800for managing account information. Users can enter, manage, and/or changetheir account information at 802. For example, users may specify: adefault logo type, first name, last name, email, password, confirmpassword, discount code, company name, country, city, state, zip, phone,mobile phone, among other options. Any changes can be saved by selecting804. Upon saving changes, the user can be re-directed to whatever pagethey were previously accessing. Alternatively, a user may selectfunctions from the header display of 800 (e.g., at 805) to return tologo design functions.

Returning to FIG. 7B, once the user selects 762, the system transitionsto a next step of the logo design process. In one example, the systemprovides an overlay display to prompt the user to further define theirneeds for a custom logo. Shown in FIG. 9A is an example user interface900 that can be displayed over a design interface (e.g. FIG. 9B). In oneexample, UI 900 is displayed when the user has not specified a logocategory or logo type they would like to create. At 902, the user caninput a logo type which the system uses to search existing logos or at904 a logo category can be selected from a drop down list. The drop downlist can include pre-defined categories. In some embodiments, useractivity can be used by the system to automatically generate new logocategories. The new categories can be selected from the drop down menu904 once generated by the system. If the user has specified a logocategory (e.g., at 904) or a logo type or closes UI 900 (e.g., at 906),the system displays user interface 950 of FIG. 9B. For the purposes ofclarity, the common elements between the various user interfaces may notbe described with respect to each Figure.

Shown in FIG. 9B is a user interface 920 for selecting a respectivedesign. User interface 920 can include a selection display section 920for rendering candidate designs. Multiple pages of design options may beavailable, which can be accessed by selecting page links or next at 924.Additionally, the user may filter the displayed logo options by enteringsearch terms in input box 932.

In one embodiment, UI 920 is responsive to a hover action by users. Forexample, if a user places a mouse pointer over a particular designoption, that design option will be rendered with a selection/edit border926. Within the border 926, the user may select “Save Now” at 928, whichresults in the system saving the logo design and transition the user topurchase displays. Alternatively, the user can select “Edit Now” at 930to access design editing functions.

Not readily apparent, each action taken by the user can be stored, forexample, on the system hosting freelogoservices.com. The user actions,user information, and optionally scores for the action can be associatedwith the logo being designed, as well as any logo text, or logo searchterms entered. As discussed above, the accumulation of user actions canbe used to influence subsequent displays of logo designs.

For example, the options displayed at 935-951 can be generated ascandidate search results by the system. Each candidate search resultscan include a respective search/sort score developed as part of theexecution of the search and sort framework discussed above. The orderingof the potential logos can be dependent on a respective search/score.

According to one embodiment, responsive to selection of 930, the systemcan display an overlay screen 1000. The overlay screen 1000 can beconfigured to present layout options to the user. Each layout option canbe ordered similarly to logo design ordering (e.g., respectivesearch/sort scores can be used to identify options for display). In oneexample, user historical selection of similar logos and/or text can beused to determine what layout options should be presented to the user(e.g., prior selections of logos increase their respective search/sortscore). Layout options can be scored using historical user activity, asdiscussed above, and ordered based on a respective score. In otherexamples, historical user activity associated with layout options can befiltered based on using models/characteristics matching the currentcontext (e.g., entered search terms and/or user profile matches) tofurther refine any ordering of selections. At 1002, a current layout ispresented to the user based on logo design selections made in previousscreens. Additional layout options can be displayed at 1004-1010. Eachlayout option can be responsive to a hover action by a user. If the usermoves a pointer on the display over the layout option, a selectionborder will be displayed (e.g., at 1012). Responsive to selection of theselected layout (e.g., at 1014), the system transitions to an editinguser interface. In some embodiments, overlay screen 1000 is displayedover a grey out background 1016. The grayed out background 1016 canreflect what will be shown to the user as the editing interface uponselection of layout.

FIG. 11 is an example screen capture of an editing user interface 1100.The editing UI can include text management tools (e.g., at 1102). Thetext management tools can provide for adding new text (e.g., at 1104),manipulating text characteristics (e.g., font, size etc. at 1106). Thetext management tools can be configured to manipulate the exiting text“SIMPLY” at 1108. The editing UI can also include color management tools(e.g., at 1112). The color management tools can be configured tomanipulate the display colors of any text in the logo design, as well asthe colors presented in a logo image (e.g., at 1110). The colormanagement tools can also include selections configured to provideadditional functionality. In one example, the additional functionalitycan provide for popular color selections. In some embodiments popularcolor selections can be presented based on scoring of prior userselections.

At 1114, display 1100 includes file management functions. The filemanagement functions provide for saving a design, accessing design tips,accessing a preview image, undoing edits, redoing edits, and resetting alogo to original format, among other options. Additionally, a user canaccess a preview of their design responsive to selection of 1116. Thesystem saves any edit to the logo design responsive to selection of 1118in interface 1100. According to one embodiment, any saved products thata user has designed, saved, and/or purchased can be displayed as part ofthe editing screen 1100. For example, at 1120, images of previouslysaved logo designs can be displayed. Additionally, recommendations forproducts (e.g., novelty items, coffee mugs, hats, t-shirts, etc.)incorporating the current logo design and/or prior logo designs can bedisplayed within the saved products display area 1120. Not shown, thesaved products display area can include functions for purchasing thedisplayed product or logo as well as functions to edit the displayedproduct or logo. In some embodiments, each of the displayed productsand/or logos can also be scored based on prior user interactions asdiscussed above, for example, with respect to content items and logodesigns.

In some embodiments, selection of save logo at 1118 triggers the systemto display a preview of the logo design. The preview window requeststhat the user confirm the layout of the logo design prior to saving. Ifthe user is satisfied (e.g., selects save in the preview display), thesystem saves the logo.

According to another embodiment, the system can be configured to presentcustom products to the user responsive to saving of a logo design.According to one example, an overlay display 1200 FIG. 12 can be shownresponsive to saving a logo design. The overlay display 1200 can beconfigured to present candidate business cards incorporating the currentuser's logo design, along with user account information (e.g., first andlast name, e-mail, and phone number). Each of the business card options(e.g. 1204-1214) can be automatically generated for presentation to theuser. In some embodiments, the business card options can be selected bythe system for display based on scoring of prior user history.

In other embodiments, the system can be configured to select theelements of each business card design (e.g., any one or more of: color,image, layout, text, font, etc.) based on scoring of the elements withinthe business cards according to a search/sort score associated with therespective elements determined from, for example, prior user history, asdiscussed above. In yet other embodiments, the system can select popularlayouts and incorporate the current user's logo design. Responsive toselection of a business card, the system transitions to an editingdisplay for the business card (e.g., similar to display 1100). If theuser does not wish to design a business card, the user may select 1202to finalize the saving of the current user's logo design.

FIG. 13 is an example screen capture of a user interface 1300 forpurchasing a logo design. The UI 1300 can include notices regarding howlong a design will be retained on the system (e.g., at 1302). At 1304,the system displays information on what the user receives upon purchase(e.g., high quality files, file formats—.jpg, .png & .gif, .svg & .eps(for ultra high resolution), among other options). At 1306, a display ofthe logo design in shown. At 1308, various options for incorporating alogo into other documents, settings, etc., can be shown. For example, at1308 a web page layout incorporating the user's logo can be shown.Further examples for product that can display logos include businesscard previews, letterhead, among other options. The potential productoptions can be generated based on search/sort scoring associated withthe user's context. For example, user history can be used to scorepotential alternative products that are associated with the user'scurrent content (e.g., logo, user information, and/or current activitypurchase of logo product, among other options). Responsive to selectionof 1310, the system transitions to a payment interface. Alternatively,the user can create another logo responsive to selection of 1312.

FIG. 14 is a screen capture of an example user interface 1400 forproviding payment. At 1402, product details are provided for the user'spurchase. At 1404 the user can specify the detail regarding their meansof payment as well as add any additional features they would like topurchase (e.g., at 1406, the user can upgrade their logo purchase toinclude—unlimited editing of the current design, social media formattedfiles, recommended product selection that incorporate the logo (e.g.,business cards, novelty items, etc.).

FIG. 15 is a screen capture of an example user interface 1500 fordisplaying a user's purchase cart. At 1502, product recommendations canbe displayed to the user upon accessing the cart. The productrecommendations can be automatically generated by the system. In someembodiments, the ordering of the product recommendations reflectshistorical user interactions of previous users and their actions (e.g.,selection, view, and/or purchase, among other options) with respect tothose products. In some examples, recommended products can be scored asdiscussed above, for example, with respect to content items or logodesigns. Details of the product for purchase can be displayed at 1504.Options for proceeding to payment screens can be presented at 1506 an1508. The user may also exit the card by selecting “continue shopping”at 1510.

Various embodiments can implement various ones of the example userinterfaces discussed. Other embodiments can implement different userinterfaces that provide similar functionality.

Example Computer Implementations

Various aspects and functions described herein, in accord with aspectsof the present invention, may be implemented as hardware, software, or acombination of hardware and software on one or more computer systems.There are many examples of computer systems currently in use. Someexamples include, among others, network appliances, personal computers,workstations, mainframes, networked clients, servers, media servers,application servers, database servers, web servers, and virtual servers.Other examples of computer systems may include mobile computing devices,such as cellular phones, laptops, tablets, and personal digitalassistants, and network equipment, such as load balancers, routers andswitches. Additionally, aspects in accord with the present invention maybe located on a single computer system or may be distributed among oneor more computer systems connected to one or more communicationnetworks.

For example, various aspects and functions may be distributed among oneor more computer systems configured to provide a service to one or moreclient computers, or to perform an overall task as part of a distributedsystem. Additionally, aspects may be performed on a client-server ormulti-tier system that includes components distributed among one or moreserver systems that perform various functions. Thus, the invention isnot limited to executing on any particular system or group of systems.Further, aspects may be implemented in software, hardware or firmware,or any combination thereof. Thus, aspects in accord with the presentinvention may be implemented within methods, acts, systems, systemcomponents using a variety of hardware and software configurations, andthe implementation is not limited to any particular distributedarchitecture, network, or communication protocol. Furthermore, aspectsin accord with the present invention may be implemented asspecially-programmed hardware and/or software.

FIG. 16 shows a block diagram of a distributed computer system 1600, inwhich various aspects and functions in accord with the present inventionmay be practiced. The distributed computer system 1600 may include oneor more computer systems that can be specially configured to perform thefunctions, operations, and/or processes disclosed herein. For example,as illustrated, the distributed computer system 1600 includes threecomputer systems 1602, 1604 and 1606. As shown, the computer systems1602, 1604 and 1606 are interconnected by, and may exchange datathrough, a communication network 1608. The network 1608 may include anycommunication network through which computer systems may exchange data.To exchange data via the network 1608, the computer systems 1602, 1604,and 1606 and the network 1608 may use various methods, protocols andstandards including, among others, token ring, Ethernet, WirelessEthernet, Bluetooth, TCP/IP, UDP, HTTP, FTP, SNMP, SMS, MMS, SS7, JSON,XML, REST, SOAP, CORBA HOP, RMI, DCOM and Web Services.

Computer systems 1602, 1604 and 1606 may include mobile devices such ascellular telephones. The communication network may further employ one ormore mobile access technologies including 2nd (2G), 3rd (3G), 4th (4G orLTE) generation radio access for cellular systems, WLAN, Wireless Router(WR) mesh, and other communication technologies. Access technologiessuch as 2G, 3G, 4G and LTE and future access networks may enable widearea coverage for mobile devices. For example, the network may enable aradio connection through a radio network access such as Global Systemfor Mobil communication (GSM), General Packet Radio Services (GPRS),Enhanced Data GSM Environment (EDGE), Wideband Code Division MultipleAccess (WCDMA), among other communication standards. Network may includeany wireless communication mechanism by which information may travelbetween the devices 1604 and other computing devices in the network.

To ensure data transfer is secure, the computer systems 1602, 1604 and1606 may transmit data via the network 1608 using a variety of securitymeasures including TSL, SSL or VPN, among other security techniques.While the distributed computer system 1600 illustrates three networkedcomputer systems, the distributed computer system 1600 may include anynumber of computer systems, networked using any medium and communicationprotocol.

Various aspects and functions in accord with the present invention maybe implemented as specialized hardware or software executing in one ormore computer systems including the computer system 1602 shown in FIG.16. As depicted, the computer system 1602 includes a processor 1610, amemory 1612, a bus 1614, an interface 1616 and a storage system 1618.The processor 1610, which may include one or more microprocessors orother types of controllers, can perform a series of instructions thatmanipulate data. The processor 1610 may be a well-known, commerciallyavailable processor such as an Intel Pentium, Intel Atom, ARM Processor,Motorola PowerPC, SGI MIPS, Sun UltraSPARC, or Hewlett-Packard PA-RISCprocessor, or may be any other type of processor or controller as manyother processors and controllers are available. As shown, the processor1610 is connected to other system placements, including a memory 1612,by the bus 1614.

The memory 1612 may be used for storing programs and data duringoperation of the computer system 1602. Thus, the memory 1612 may be arelatively high performance, volatile, random access memory such as adynamic random access memory (DRAM) or static memory (SRAM). However,the memory 1612 may include any device for storing data, such as a diskdrive or other non-volatile storage device, such as flash memory orphase-change memory (PCM). Various embodiments in accord with thepresent invention can organize the memory 1612 into particularized and,in some cases, unique structures to perform the aspects and functionsdisclosed herein.

Components of the computer system 1602 may be coupled by aninterconnection element such as the bus 1614. The bus 1614 may includeone or more physical busses (for example, busses between components thatare integrated within a same machine), and may include any communicationcoupling between system placements including specialized or standardcomputing bus technologies such as IDE, SCSI, PCI and InfiniBand. Thus,the bus 1614 enables communications (for example, data and instructions)to be exchanged between system components of the computer system 1602.

Computer system 1602 also includes one or more interfaces 1616 such asinput devices, output devices and combination input/output devices. Theinterface devices 1616 may receive input, provide output, or both. Forexample, output devices may render information for externalpresentation. Input devices may accept information from externalsources. Examples of interface devices include, among others, keyboards,mouse devices, trackballs, microphones, touch screens, printing devices,display screens, speakers, network interface cards, etc. The interfacedevices 1616 allow the computer system 1602 to exchange information andcommunicate with external entities, such as users and other systems.

Storage system 1618 may include a computer-readable andcomputer-writeable nonvolatile storage medium in which instructions arestored that define a program to be executed by the processor. Thestorage system 1618 also may include information that is recorded, on orin, the medium, and this information may be processed by the program.More specifically, the information may be stored in one or more datastructures specifically configured to conserve storage space or increasedata exchange performance. The instructions may be persistently storedas encoded signals, and the instructions may cause a processor toperform any of the functions described herein. A medium that can be usedwith various embodiments may include, for example, optical disk,magnetic disk or flash memory, among others. In operation, the processor1610 or some other controller may cause data to be read from thenonvolatile recording medium into another memory, such as the memory1612, that allows for faster access to the information by the processor1610 than does the storage medium included in the storage system 1618.The memory may be located in the storage system 1618 or in the memory1612. The processor 1610 may manipulate the data within the memory 1612,and then copy the data to the medium associated with the storage system1618 after processing is completed. A variety of components may managedata movement between the medium and the memory 1612, and the inventionis not limited thereto.

Further, the invention is not limited to a particular memory system orstorage system. Although the computer system 1602 is shown by way ofexample as one type of computer system upon which various aspects andfunctions in accord with the present invention may be practiced, aspectsof the invention are not limited to being implemented on the computersystem, shown in FIG. 16. Various aspects and functions in accord withthe present invention may be practiced on one or more computers havingdifferent architectures or components than that shown in FIG. 16. Forinstance, the computer system 1602 may include specially-programmed,special-purpose hardware, such as for example, an application-specificintegrated circuit (ASIC) tailored to perform a particular operationdisclosed herein. Another embodiment may perform the same function usingseveral general-purpose computing devices running MAC OS System X withMotorola PowerPC processors and several specialized computing devicesrunning proprietary hardware and operating systems.

The computer system 1602 may include an operating system that manages atleast a portion of the hardware placements included in computer system1602. A processor or controller, such as processor 1610, may execute anoperating system which may be, among others, a Windows-based operatingsystem (for example, Windows NT, Windows 2000/ME, Windows XP, Windows 7,or Windows Vista) available from the Microsoft Corporation, a MAC OSSystem X operating system available from Apple Computer, one of manyLinux-based operating system distributions (for example, the EnterpriseLinux operating system available from Red Hat Inc.), a Solaris operatingsystem available from Sun Microsystems, or a UNIX operating systemsavailable from various sources. Many other operating systems may beused, and embodiments are not limited to any particular operatingsystem.

The processor and operating system together define a computing platformfor which application programs in high-level programming languages maybe written. These component applications may be executable, intermediate(for example, C# or JAVA bytecode) or interpreted code which communicateover a communication network (for example, the Internet) using acommunication protocol (for example, TCP/IP). Similarly, functions inaccord with aspects of the present invention may be implemented using anobject-oriented programming language, such as SmallTalk, JAVA, C++, Ada,or C# (C-Sharp). Other object-oriented programming languages may also beused. Alternatively, procedural, scripting, or logical programminglanguages may be used.

Additionally, various functions in accord with aspects of the presentinvention may be implemented in a non-programmed environment (forexample, documents created in HTML, XML or other format that, whenviewed in a window of a browser program, render aspects of agraphical-user interface or perform other functions). Further, variousembodiments in accord with aspects of the present invention may beimplemented as programmed or non-programmed placements, or anycombination thereof. For example, a web page may be implemented usingHTML while a data object called from within the web page may be writtenin C++. Thus, the invention is not limited to a specific programminglanguage and any suitable programming language could also be used.

It is to be appreciated that embodiments of the methods and apparatusesdiscussed herein are not limited in application to the details ofconstruction and the arrangement of components set forth in thefollowing description or illustrated in the accompanying drawings. Themethods and apparatuses are capable of implementation in otherembodiments and of being practiced or of being carried out in variousways. Examples of specific implementations are provided herein forillustrative purposes only and are not intended to be limiting. Inparticular, acts, elements and features discussed in connection with anyone or more embodiments are not intended to be excluded from a similarrole in any other embodiments.

Also, the phraseology and terminology used herein is for the purpose ofdescription and should not be regarded as limiting. Any references toembodiments or elements or acts of the systems and methods hereinreferred to in the singular may also embrace embodiments including aplurality of these elements, and any references in plural to anyembodiment or element or act herein may also embrace embodimentsincluding only a single element. References in the singular or pluralform are not intended to limit the presently disclosed systems ormethods, their components, acts, or elements. The use herein of“including,” “comprising,” “having,” “containing,” “involving,” andvariations thereof is meant to encompass the items listed thereafter andequivalents thereof as well as additional items. References to “or” maybe construed as inclusive so that any terms described using “or” mayindicate any of a single, more than one, and all of the described terms.

Having thus described several aspects of at least one embodiment of thisinvention, it is to be appreciated that various alterations,modifications, and improvements will readily occur to those skilled inthe art. Such alterations, modifications, and improvements are intendedto be part of this disclosure, and are intended to be within the spiritand scope of the invention. Accordingly, the foregoing description anddrawings are by way of example only.

What is claimed is:
 1. A system for executing queries and generatingtailored recommendations, the system comprising: at least one processoroperatively connected to a memory configured to: access information onsearch selections executed in in a user interface performed by a userpopulation, and generate tailored search results for display to a userin a user interface, wherein the user interface includes a plurality ofdisplays screens associated with a search engine and results for acustom digital design, wherein the plurality of display screens includeat least, a first display screen from which the search engine receivesuser specification of descriptive information associated with usersearch intent or selecting an image for the custom digital design or asecond display configured to display a plurality of images and resultsassociated with the user's search intent or selecting an image for thecustom digital design; access system assigned scores for users' actionsassociated with content items displayed to the user population, whereinsystem assigned scores include assignment of a respective score to: thecurrent user's actions associated with previews of results, entered orgenerated search terms, visualized or accessed search results, andsearch navigation associated with the user's intent, or a custom designor previews of respective ones of the plurality of results; indexentered or automatically created search terms with system defined useractions, wherein at least a portion of the index on the search terms isgenerated irrespective of meaning associated with the search terms; andwherein generating the tailored search results includes identificationof the tailored search results based, at least in part, on respectiveaction scores assigned to respective content items.
 2. The system ofclaim 1, wherein the at least one processor is configured to return atleast the tailored search results based, at least in part, on respectiveaction scores assigned to respective images associated with thedescriptive information.
 3. The system of claim 2, wherein the at leastone processor is further configured to include meaning agnostic resultsin at least a portion of the tailored search results.
 4. The system ofclaim 1, wherein the at least one processor is further configured toassign scores relative to steps taken towards a system defined useraction.
 5. The system of claim 1, wherein the at least one processor isconfigured to weight assigned scores and emphasize user behaviorassociated with completion of a system defined user action.
 6. Thesystem of claim 4, wherein the at least one processor is furtherconfigured to score actions associated with creation of the customdesign based on scoring on users actions taken in the user interfacerelative to steps associated with creating a custom digital design. 7.The system of claim 1, wherein the at least one processor is furtherconfigured to: automatically generate a query responsive to userspecification of the descriptive information.
 8. The system of claim 6,wherein the query is based on, at least in part, the descriptiveinformation for an image for customizing the plurality of products, andwherein the at least one processor is further configured to: execute thequery to return at least search results of images for customizingproducts and identify the search results based, at least in part, onrespective action scores assigned to respective images associated withthe descriptive information; and communicate the search results fordisplay to the user in the user interface and respective display screen.9. A computer implemented method for executing queries and generatingtailored recommendations, the method comprising: accessing, by acomputer system, information on search selections executed in in a userinterface performed by a user population; generating, by the computersystem, tailored search results for display to a user in a userinterface, wherein the user interface includes a plurality of displaysscreens associated with a search engine and results for a custom digitaldesign, wherein the plurality of display screens include at least, afirst display screen from which the search engine receives userspecification of descriptive information associated with user searchintent or selecting an image for the custom digital design or a seconddisplay configured to display a plurality of images and resultsassociated with the user's search intent or selecting an image for thecustom digital design; accessing, by the computer system, systemassigned scores for users' actions associated with content itemsdisplayed to the user population, wherein system assigned scores includeassignment of a respective score to: the current user's actionsassociated with previews of results, entered or generated search terms,visualized or accessed search results, and search navigation associatedwith the user's intent, or a custom design or previews of respectiveones of the plurality of results; indexing, by the computer system,entered or automatically created search terms with system defined useractions, wherein at least a portion of the index on the search terms isgenerated irrespective of meaning associated with the search terms; andwherein generating the tailored search results includes an act ofidentifying the tailored search results based, at least in part, onrespective action scores assigned to respective content items.
 10. Themethod of claim 9, further comprising communicating, by the computersystem, at least search results of images for creating a custom digitaldesign based, at least in part, on respective action scores assigned torespective images associated with the descriptive information.
 11. Themethod of claim 9, wherein the method further comprises an act ofexecuting, by the computer system, scoring rules to assign an actionvalue to a content item based on prior user action associated with thecontent item.
 12. The method of claim 11, wherein the scoring includesadding the action value to any existing action value for the contentitem.
 13. The method of claim 10, further comprising matching, by thecomputer system, a current user's characteristics to characteristics ofprior users.
 14. The method of claim 13, wherein matching includesfiltering the previous users' actions scored by the modeling componentresponsive to matching the current user's characteristics to priorusers.
 15. The method of claim 9, further comprising an act of ordering,by the computer system, the search results in the second display screenaccording to respective activity scores.
 16. The method of claim 9,further comprising an act of automatically generating, by the computersystem, a query responsive to user specification of the descriptiveinformation for creating the custom digital design, wherein the query isbased on, at least in part, the descriptive information associated withimages for creating the custom design.
 17. A system for executingqueries and generating tailored recommendations, the system comprising:at least one processor operatively connected to a memory configured to:access information on search selections executed in in a user interfaceperformed by a user population, and generate tailored search results fordisplay to a user in a user interface, wherein the user interfaceincludes a plurality of displays screens associated with a searchengine, wherein the plurality of display screens include at least, afirst display screen from which the search engine receives userspecification of descriptive information associated with user searchintent or a second display configured to display a plurality of imagesand results associated with the user's search intent; access systemassigned scores for users' actions associated with content itemsdisplayed to the user population, wherein system assigned scores includeassignment of a respective score to: the current user's actionsassociated with previews of results, entered or generated search terms,visualized or accessed search results, and search navigation associatedwith the user's intent or respective ones of the plurality of results;index entered or automatically created search terms with system defineduser actions, wherein at least a portion of the index on the searchterms is generated irrespective of meaning associated with the searchterms; and wherein generating the tailored search results includesidentification of the tailored search results based, at least in part,on respective action scores assigned to respective content items. 18.The system of claim 17, wherein the at least one processor is configuredto return at least the tailored search results based, at least in part,on respective action scores assigned to respective images associatedwith the descriptive information.
 19. The system of claim 18, whereinthe at least one processor is further configured to include meaningagnostic results in at least a portion of the tailored search results.20. The system of claim 17, wherein the at least one processor isfurther configured to assign scores relative to steps taken towards asystem defined user action.